Featured Faculty: Paolo G. Carozza
NOTE: This profile of Prof. Carozza first appeared in the Sept. 6 Notre Dame v. San Diego State football program. Carozza received recognition for his scholarly contributions to the University at halftime of the game. Standing with him is University Provost Tom Burish.
Notre Dame Law Professor Paolo Carozza’s interest and expertise in comparative law and international human rights is rooted his family history: “I am the son of Italian immigrants who fled the destruction of the Second World War to start over from nothing in the U.S. Here they both went on to become university professors. My father was a scholar of comparative literature and an expert in Dante, and undoubtedly his example has been my guide as a comparatist, a scholar and a teacher, and my inspiration in always desiring to unite a search for the universal truths of our humanity with a deep appreciation for the rich diversity of human cultures.”
Recently elected chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) – the international body principally responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in the 35 nations of the Western hemisphere – Carozza travels throughout the Americas monitoring human rights conditions, and at IACHR headquarters in Washington, DC he adjudicates individuals’ claims of rights violations by their governments.
A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1996, Carozza is actively involved in the Law School’s Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR), and serves as director of the doctoral program in international human rights law, which is administered through the CCHR. He also is a fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies.
Carozza teaches regularly at the Post-Graduate School of Economics and International Relations of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, and also has taught courses at various other universities and institutes in the United States, Europe, and South America. In 2009, he will serve as a Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard University, where he earned both his A.B. and J.D. degrees. He has published books and articles on human rights, international law and comparative law in several languages on three continents.
For more information about Professor Carozza, visit his faculty profile page.
